The Committee on the Environment of the European Parliament set the course for the reduction of plastic waste this week. Europeans use on average about 200 plastic carrier bags each year, of which estimated 90 % are made of lightweight plastic (0.05 mm thickness). As these are rarely reused, their issue shall now be significantly reduced.

Each year, 8 billion plastic carrier bags litter the environment. However, the use of plastic carrier bags within the EU is vastly different. Whilst in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia and Slovenia the annual consumption of plastic carrier bags, which are only used once, is estimated at 466 per person, only 4 bags per person are issued in Denmark and Finland 4, followed by Luxemburg and Ireland with 18 bags. Hot on their heels is Austria with 45 single-use plastic carrier bags per year.

Microparticles of plastic carrier bags entering into the food chain may have dangerous consequences. MEP Karin Kadenbach, Member of the Committee of the Environment puts it bluntly: “In particular the number of lightweight single-use plastic carrier bags need to be drastically reduced to protect the beleaguered environment. Our oceans are full of plastic waste, huge waste islands are drifting on our waters and endanger eco systems and fish stocks.”

EU Member States shall now have two options. Either they take measures that the consumption is halved by 2019 (90 plastic carrier bags per person per year) and reduced by 80 % by 2025 (40 bags per person per year) or they ban the issue of free carrier bags by the end of 2018. The Committee of the Environment already gave its go-ahead; the plenum will take its decision in April.

Further information:

AK Position Paper

Proposal for a DIRECTIVE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL amending Directive 94/62/EC on packaging and packaging waste to reduce the consumption of lightweight plastic carrier bags